Bottle closure to render bottles nonrefillable



Oct. 1, 1946. H. w. HAGEN 2,403,634 a BOTTLE CLOSURE TO RENDER BOTTLES NONREFILLAB LE Filed may 1, 1944 Patented Oct. 1,1946

BOTTLE CLOSURE TO RENDER BOTTLES NONREFILLABLE.

I I Harry. W. Hagen, Decatur, Ill.

7 Application May 1, 1944, Serial N0. 533,483'

11 creams. (01. 215-25 Theipresent-invention relates to a bottle closure of the type which is inserted into the neck of a bottle or similar container after the same has been filled, and is then suitably sealed thereto, so that its removal will be impossible without' breaking the seal and thus revealing the fact that thebottle' has been tampered with. Moreover, the interior construction of the closure is such as to prevent the unauthorized refilling of the bottle after its contents havev been discharged.

The device difiers from the usual type of nonrefillable, bottle in that it .is not a part of the bottle structure itself, but is attachable to any bottle 'or-sim'ilar container which has the-proper dimensions for which it has been designed.

One of the objects of the invention is to pro-. vide a comparatively simple type'of non-refillable bottle closure which contains but a minimum number of parts, which is'readily assembled, is simple and positive in itskaction, and when sealed to a bottle, will effectively prevent the unauthor-' ized refilling thereof, also being so constructed that tampering with the liquid sealing means will be substantially impossible.

A further object is to'provide a bottle closure which can be readily and easily manufactured from'eith'er metal or plastic material which is easy to assemble and if desired may be reused by the original bottlers of the material by the simple operation of removing a suitable seal, refilling the bottle and replacing the seal."

Broadly speaking, the bottle closure comprises a substantially tubular housing'ha'vin'g centrally positioned therein a cylindrical body with cutaway shoulclers so that the central body will in effect consist of the inverted f'r'ustrums of two cones. The interior of the tubular housing moreover is conical so that it is wider at the bottom than at the top, and at the bottom thereof there is a plate containing a plurality of valve openingswhich; when the device isin'a vertical position, are closed by freely movable valves, such as balls and the like, which are movable within a limited space in suitable recesses provided along the exterior side walls of the central body.

For a better understanding of the present invention, the same is illustrated in a single sheet of drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View partly in section, showing the upper end of the neck of a bottle with the device of the present invention -inserted.int'o the opening thereof, and sealed to the bottle;

Fig. 2, on a somewhatfsmaller scale, is'a'ver tical section through the bottle closure itself, showing its interior construction;

made integral with the bOdy portion I6.

I 2 Fig; 3 is a top view; Fig. 4; is a bottom view;

- Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the interiorly located core member; v

Figs. 6 and 7' respectively are bottom views of modifications within the contemplation of the invention; and v Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative type of valve.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a suitable neck ID of a bottle has inserted into the opening H thereof the lower cylindrical end ll of the bottle closure, the depth of penetration of the'same into the bottle neck opening I! being limited by shoulders If'desired and if the device is made of metal or plastic, a suitable sealing ring of, cork or plastic material 14 may serve to seal the exterior.

walls of the bottom of the closure to the interior walls ofthe bottle opening II. The shoulders l3 restagainst'the upper end of the bottle neck l0, and the device moreover has at itsupper end a stopper-receiving ring-shaped portion 15 which is tightly fitted into the upper end of the main body portionv 16 so as to be diflicultly removable therefrom-and preferably sealed thereto as described in further detail hereinbelow.

The bottle closure itself, as canbest be seen from Fig. 2, comprises the body portion Hi, the interior I! of which is hollow, being generally in the'shape of the frustrum of a cone that is wider at the bottom than at the top. Moreover the bottom of the empty annular space I! is partly closed by a suitable plate I8 which is preferably The said plat'e i8 is provided with a plurality (say four)'of openings l9 which are so shaped that they may receive andjhold suitable freely movable balls 20 which, when the device is in a vertical position, will lie within the Openings I9, thus ob'turalting. the same. able opening 2! in the plate Hi there is a screw portion 22 which forms a part of the centrally located core member broadly designated by the reference numeral 23. lhis core member consists of two portions, of which the lower one, 24, is in the general form of the inverted frustrum of a cone, and at its widest dimension is just equal in size to the interior diameter of the upper portion. 25 of the body portion IS. The core member 23 also has a second conical portion 25, the upper. end 2'! of which issomewhat narrower so as to allow a certain amount of annular space 28 between the, interior walls of the body member 116 and the core member 23 fo'rthe flow Extending through a suit 30, the balls cannot move any further than the upper ends of the recesses 29.

At the upper end of the body member there is a therein inserted stopper-receiving annular portion l5, the exterior of the lower portion thereof, 3|, being so proportioned as to form a tight and close fit with the upper part of the body member I6.

The method of assembling the bottle stopper is as follows:

The four balls 2!] are first placed in the openings l9 Whereafter the core member 23 is dropped vertically into the body portion E6 in such a manner that the screw threaded part 22 will pass through the opening 2! in the plate I8, whereupon the cap Si is tightly screwed thereon. The opening 2! is preferably made square so that when screwing on the cap 3! the core member will be restrained from turning, By reason of the fact that the widest portion 24 of the core member 23'wi11 just clear the upper opening of the body member l5, insertion of the core member'into the housing will easily be possible and yet have the shoulders produced by the part 24 wide enough seriously to interfere with any attempt which might be made to dislodge the balls by inserting a wire through the top of the device.

Further to insure the difilculty of such tampering, the stopper-receiving member I5 is inserted into the upper end of the device, preferably being cemented thereto so that it cannot be removed without injuring the device itself. A suitable stopper may be inserted in the hole 32. The stopper is not shown in the drawing, as its construction is a matter of choice, and it may be any type of suitable cork, plastic or the like.

If desired the number of holes [9 may be less than the four shown in Figs. 4 and 5, for instance, there ma be but two h'oles, as shown in Fig. '7, or 3 holes as shown in Fig. 6.

The reason for having more than one ballsealed opening i9 is to enable the liquid to flow out of the bottle without interference with the inflow of air whenever the bottle is inverted for the purpose of pouring liquid therefrom.

- The operation of the device of the present invention is substantially as follows:

With the device entirely out of the neck H] of the bottle, the bottle is filled with liquid, where'- upon the device is inserted into the neck, then being sealed thereto by means of any suitable wrapping 35, which may be either of metal or a suitable plastic composition, preferably bearing the insignia and other decorative markings of the manufacturer of the contents of the bottle. t therefore is impossible for anyone to remove the bottle stopper of the present invention without revealing the fact that he has tampered with the sealing device. The main object of the present invention is to assure consumers of beverages that the contents of the bottles from which beverages are dispensed are the genuine products of the manufacturers whose names appear on the bottles.

When it is desired to pour liquid out of the bottle, it is tilted toward a horizontal or downwardly inclined position, whereupon the balls 20 will fall, under the influence of gravity, out of the holes l9, and will tend to run along the interior of the walls of the body member l6, so far as the two balls are concerned which are on the lower side when the bottle is in a horizontal position, while the upper balls will roll in the recesses 29. Liquid can therefore flow through the holes l9 and the annular space H and find its way through the annularopening 28 and to the opening 32, from which the cork or stopper has suitably been first withdrawn. At the same time air may pass through the upper portion of the space I1 and enter the bottle through one of the other openings l9 which now form the upper part of the device, i. e'., when it is in a substantially horizontal or even further inclined position.

The central core member 23 thus performs an important double function. In the first place, it assures a proper separation betweenliquid and gaseous fluids when the contents of the bottle are being discharged, and thus permits of a free and even flow of the liquid without the necessity of shaking the bottle, and without the intermittent fiow which has been the characteristic of so many of the non-refillable bottle closures of the past.

Furthermore, the core member 23 performs another important function, particularly by reason of the shoulders 24 and ZTWhlCh prevent anyone from pushing a wire down through the space I! in an attempt to'hold the balls 20 out of the openings IS in an attempt to refill the bottle. With the upper annular stopper-receiving portion l5 in place, if an attempt were made to push a wire into the device, the wire would first encounter the flat surface of the upper end of the core member 23 and even if one should succeed in bending the wire through-the annular space 28, the wire would then encounter the shoulder of the part 24. It will be readily apparent that it is substantially impossible to get a wire down into the holes 19 so as to keep theballs 20 from properly sealing said openings I9. Therefore, when the bottle is in the vertical position, liquid cannot be poured therein as the balls 20 would prevent entrance thereof into the interior of the bottle.

In case, as shown in Fig, '7, only two openings l9 are used, it is important to orient them in such a position when discharging the contents of the bottle that one of them will be uppermost so that air may pass therethrough while liquid flows from the bottom hole.

In case there are three openings, as shown in Fig. 6, the proper location of an air entry opening will be definitely assured, no matter in what position the bottle is grasped. Most convenient, however, is the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, in which four equally spaced openings l9 are used.

The device may be made of metal or of a suitable plastic composition which may, for example, be molded as by injection molding of such composition as cellulose acetate, ethyl cellulose, or various thermoplastic and/or thermosetting resins, taking into consideration, of course, the nature of the contents of the bottle. The material of which the device is made must, of course, be such that it is not soluble in or affected by the contents of the bottle.

The actual" shape of the various portions is of course a matter of considerable choice, but the presence of the centrally located core member 23 is the important part of the present invention, particularly because of its ability to prevent tampering with the balls .20, and also by effecting a proper separation between the fiow of liquid on the one hand and of air on the other.

The method of attaching the stopper-receiving portion broadly designated as i5 is also subject to a considerable variety of choice.

While balls 2H have been described in connection with the construction and operation of the device, it will be obvious that other forms of valves may be substituted therefor. A suitabie type is shown in Fig. 8, in which the obturatin valve member is shown as taking the form of a pear shaped body 33 having a depending substantially cylindrical neck 3 which is adapted to pass through the openings i9. Other suitable valves may be used, provided that they are freely operative under the influence of gravity to close or open as desired.

Having described the invention and the manner of its operation, what is claimed as new is:

1. A bottle closure comprising a substantially tubular housing, a therein centrally positioned substantially cylindrical body having ball-receiv- -ing-and-guiding recesses at its lower end and abutting the inside of the lower end of said housing, said body being spaced from the housing to provide therewith an annular path for fluids, said housing being provided with a plurality of ball-scalable openings at its lower end, balls of a size capable of sealing said openings and of rolling away from said openings to permit flow offluids therethrough, and means for securing said body to said housing.

2. A bottle closure comprising a tubular housing bounded at the bottom thereof by a plate having apertures therein, a core member secured to said plate and spaced from said housing and forming therewith an annular path for fluids and also having valve-guiding recesses along its longitudinal axis, and a plurality of valves capable of closing the apertures in said plate.

3. A bottle closure as defined in claim 2 in which the core member is provided with inwardly-extending shoulders intermediate its length.

4. A bottle closure as defined in claim 2 in which the interior of the tubular housing is wider at the bottom than at the top.

5. A bottle closure as defined in claim 2 in which the tubular housing has a smaller annular stopper-receiving member afiixed to the top thereof.

6. A bottle closure comprising a stopper insertable in a bottle opening and scalable thereto comprising a cylindrical housing, a cylindrical internal core member providing with said housing an annular path for fluids, a circular plate aflixed to the bottom of said housing, the core member being affixed to said plate and said plate being provided with a plurality of openings, free balls normally closing said openings when the closure is in a vertical position, recesses in said core member of a size permitting limited movement of said balls in a direction away from said openings so as to permit flow of fluids therethrough when the closure is in a position other than vertical, shoulders on said core member, and an annular stopper-receiving member aflixed to the upper end of said housing.

7. A non-refillable bottle having a closure as defined in claim 6 sealed thereonto after filling.

8. A bottle closure comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion whose interior space is conical with the wider portion at the bottom thereof, a circular plate integral with the bottom of said body portion provided with a plurality of ballsealable openings, a central core portion consisting of two sections each in the shape of an inverted frustrum of a cone, the diameter of said central portion at its widest part being substantially the same as the internal diameter of the upper interior end of the body portion but passable therethrough, said central portion being provided at its lower end with a plurality of ball-guiding recesses, means for securing the centra1 portion to said circular plate, a stopperreceiving annular ring fitted into the upper opening of the body portion, and freely movable balls for obturating said openings, said balls being limited as to their movement by the space between said recesses and the interior surface of the body portion.

9. A bottle closure comprising a stopper insertable in a bottle opening and sealable thereto comprising a cylindrical housing, a cylindrical in ternal core member providin with said housing an annular path for fluids, a circular plate afiixed to the bottom of said housing, the core member being afiixed to said plate and said plate being provided with a plurality of openings, free balls normally closing said openings when the closure is in a vertical position, recesses in said core member of a size permitting limited movement of said balls in a direction away from said openings so as to permit flow of fiuids therethrough when the closure is in a position other than vertical, and an annular stopper-receiving member anixed to the upper end of said housing.

10. A bottle closure comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion whose interior space is conical with a wider portion at the bottom thereof, a circular plate forming the bottom of said body portion and provided with a plurality of ball-sealable openings, a central core portion consisting of two sections each in the shape of an inverted frustrum of a cone, said central core portion forming with said body portion a substantially annular path for fluid, said central portion being provided at its lower end with a plurality of ball-guiding recesses, means for securing the central portion to said circular plate, freely movable balls for obturating said ball-scalable openings, said balls being limited as to their movement by the space between said recesses and the interior surface of the body portion.

11. A bottle closure comprising a hollow body portion provided at its lower end with a plurality of valve-scalable openings, a core member positioned interiorly within said body portion and spaced therefrom so as to provide a path for fluids, said core portion being provided at its lower end with a plurality of recesses adapted to guide freely movable valve-members capable of obturating said openings but limited as to their movement by the space between said recesses and the interior surface of the body portion.

HARRY W. HAGEN. 

